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Designer Spotlight: Carrie Hammer Fuses Beauty And Brains

Swap runway models for role models…check. Custom fit career clothes…check, check. And empower working women everywhere…done.

Fashion designer, Carrie Hammer is shaking up the status quo when it comes to dressing the professional woman.

Her New York Fashion Week show was a huge hit where she had 21 successful women, who also happen to have a discerning taste in fashion, walk the runway in her latest collection, including Google Fiber Head of Business Development Kristen Morrissey Thiede, The Daily Show Co-Creator Lizz Winstead, The Muse CEO & Co-Founder Kathryn Minshew, MarieTV Founder Marie Forleo, Psychologist Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, Miss USA Nana Meriwether, and Morpheus Media Chief Media Officer Shenan Reed.

Her Carrie Hammer collection smartly offers customizable options, such as color choice, plus hemline & sleeve length – all in an effort to make you feel dynamic in the workplace.

And now, she’s teaming up with popexpert to offer a free educational course which includes daily tips from the actual business role models who walked her runway.

There’s just no stopping Carrie Hammer…let’s go behind-the-scenes with the designer herself to find out more:

DS: A career path from ad executive to fashion designer – what inspired you to make the transition and why are you so passionate about dressing professional women?

Carrie: I come from a family of artists and being creative has always been an important part of my life. I’ve had a passion for clothing for as long as I can remember. My hobby when I was young was needlepoint and I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas in 4th grade. I guess I was born for this! I studied Economics at UCLA and going into business right after school seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I was fascinated with where digital and the web was going. When I moved to New York my love for fashion intensified, especially as it pertains to dressing for work. I found it difficult to find things for work that fit well, were work appropriate, and that made me feel confident. My male counterparts all had custom shirts and suits, and I was left out in the cold with no options of my own. I found a manufacturing partner just to make dresses for myself and I got so many compliments on them that it was an easy transition to make this into a business. Professional women are such an underserved market and I am happy to be their clothier and empowerment agent.

“Professional women are such an underserved market and I am happy to be their clothier and empowerment agent.” says fashion designer Carrie Hammer.

DS: The heart of your Carrie Hammer collection is all about customizable clothing – why is it important to you to offer made-to-measure goods to career women and how exactly does this work for your e-commerce customers?

Carrie: It’s so important for women to be empowered in their work and in their life. Clothing and presenting a polished appearance is an important part of one’s career. Having a tailored and well fitting dress is the most beautiful thing a woman can wear. It can be a simple black dress but if it’s made for you it will be the most beautiful piece in your wardrobe. We do personal fittings in women’s homes and offices. We also offer virtual fittings, sizing tools, and guidance online for our e-commerce customers. It’s important for me to create custom clothing because clothing should be made to fit the woman, not women changing themselves to fit a dress.

DS: At NYFW, your approach to the runway was groundbreaking this season. Why did you decide to use businesswomen as models, including, Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, the first-ever model in a wheelchair? And what kind of feedback have you been getting since the show?

Carrie: My customers are powerful women and executives. I didn’t feel comfortable sending teenage models down the runway to model the clothes. It came to me when we were planning the show that we should do ROLE models, not runway models. A lot of the decision was also driven by my strong belief that the fashion industry holds a lot of clout and responsibility when it comes to young women’s body image. I realized this was a great opportunity to show young women that role models are the ones they should be looking up to. Danielle Sheypuk is one of my friends and clients and she is a doctor who works with disabled patients. She is gorgeous and one of my role models, she just happens to be in a wheelchair. We have gotten overwhelming response to the role models modeling the clothes and especially around being the first New York Fashion Week show to ever feature a model in a wheelchair. I think this has opened the industry to start to speak to their disabled audience. Disabled women buy lots of clothes too!

DS: Tell us how you’re teaming up once again with these talented role models off the runway through your collaboration with popexpert?

Carrie:popexpert is a company I’ve admired from the very beginning. I think it’s very important to have role models help you navigate your life and career. popexpert makes it so easy to connect with powerful people and get their advice. The CARRIE HAMMER Role Model series features our 22 role models giving advice on their paths and careers. These women are trailblazers and having them share their experiences is incredibly valuable.

“It came to me when we were planning the show that we should do ROLE models, not runway models.” says fashion designer Carrie Hammer.

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